Fading Humanity
by Razgriz117
Summary: Nick Gray is sent into Raccoon City along with other Delta Force operatives. But in the chaos of Raccoon City, an underground pharmaceutical company sees potential in Nick Gray as a test subject for their newest bio-weapon.
1. Deployment Chapter 1

**Authors Note:**

This is my first fan fiction piece, so I would appreciate all reviews. I am trying to work some suspense into the story, so if any one is concerned for the amount of detail I give the reader regarding the main character, just keep that in mind.

Enjoy reading!

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_The fate of Raccoon City had long since been decided well before the heavily armored Delta Force dropped into Raccoon City on the night of September 29__th__. Immediately following reports of a viral outbreak in the town, the military immediately attempted to quarantine Raccoon City and the surrounding area. However despite their best efforts, there really was no hope in containing the outbreak much longer. The upper echelons of the United States government were already being confronted by the possibility of having to destroy the town in its entirety. _

_The 3 UH-60 "Blackhawks" circled twice over the town before heading to their predetermined locations. Two of the helicopters headed towards a small park north of Emerald Street. Delta force would then set up an extraction zone for any civilians they might find while scouting the area. The third Blackhawk flew north, towards Raccoon Park, not far from Raccoon Hospital, and a facility owned by Umbrella in Raccoon City's industrial sector. _

_Satellites had shown infected, radiating from those two buildings. Thus, the third helicopters team's mission was to document and observe those in advanced stages of infection, and to enter the Umbrella owned facility and investigate it. The order was given last minute by a colonel at USAMRIID (__Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease). _

_They obviously want Umbrella's B.O.W data…_ Major Nick Gray thought as the helicopter flew over hell on earth.

Every other building seemed to be on fire, vehicles were crashed everywhere, not too mention the hordes of infected wondering the streets.

Nick turned his attention to the men sitting around him inside the Blackhawk. Most of them were in their early 20's, and at first glance seemed inexperienced. However, their files much revealed more. Most of them had seen action in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as numerous counter-terror operations.

It didn't look like it, but these were the best soldiers that the Army could scrape together for this mission.

The soldiers seemed nervous, especially after they had looked on via satellite as "viral carriers," tore apart a group of civilians.

"Did you hear those people screaming while those things were on top of them on that security camera footage?" A corporal asked another corporal who sat across from him.

"Shit man, they must have been screaming for about five minutes straight before they died…"

"Major, what are those things, and why the hell are they eating other people?"

The rest of the cabin turned toward Nick, all wondering the same thing.

_Someone just had to let it slip that I was briefed on this…_

"You all know what you need to know, aim for the head it the only way to put these things down. Also if anyone is bitten, you shoot them in the head. I don't care if it's a civilian, or your best friend, don't hesitate because they're already dead."

"So much for an optimistic start…" muttered one of the corporals.

"Well I think that this "outbreak" was caused by terrorists," a loud-mouthed Master Sergeant shouted over the roar of the helicopters rotor blades.

"And why the hell, would they attack some city in the mountains? Come on Eugene, can't your brain come up with anything else?" Another first lieutenant shouted with a grin.

The other soldiers began cracking up as Eugene gave the other soldier the bird with a smirk on his face.

Nick managed to smile as well, but quickly regained his composure, he had to keep order, or some of these men may not come home.

"Cut the chatter men, check your guns, and ammo. We'll be touching ground soon."

Nick had been given command of the troops on the ground, and was also given access to restricted files regarding the nature of the outbreak. Including testing data and statements from Umbrella employees. Plus, he had had previous encounters with Umbrella...

Nick was quite the anomaly in the military. Besides the fact that he had obtained the rank of Major at such the young age of 25, he was also specifically called into action for this mission, and only a select few in the United States Government had access to his file.

While it wasn't the nature of the outbreak that bothered him, it was the _location_ of the outbreak that made it such a threat. The Arklay Mountains surrounded Raccoon City, making it virtually impossible to quarantine the area. If the military couldn't even properly secure the roads leading to the town, how could the stop an infected human from wandering through the forest?

The helicopter slowed to a stop over their entry point into the city. As the rope was thrown down from the helicopter, Nick clipped himself on and fast-roped to the ground.

As he landed on the ground Nick quickly assessed his surroundings. Five viral carriers were barely 10 feet away, slowly shambling towards him. He quickly pulled out his sidearm, a sleek Heckler & Koch MK23, and in quick succession shot all five zombies in the head, their head jerking back as the 9mm bullets tore through their brain cases. As the corpses fell to the ground, he could hear the whistle of the rest of the soldiers fast roping down.

Nick holstered his sidearm and glanced around as the 22 soldiers quickly secured the area, firing well-aimed, 3-round bursts at the heads of the infected.

" Recon team, regroup on me!" the Captain barked into his radio.

The soldiers ran over to him and formed a circle around him, awaiting his orders.

Others began stringing barbed wire across streets, and setting up light-machine guns inside the newly erected perimeter, while sniper teams went to the rooftops for a better view.

"Listen up! Alpha squad, I want you to sit-tight here and hold this extraction point incase we need to get out fast. Bravo squad, we're moving out in groups of two. Lieutenant Parker, you're with me."

The members of Bravo Squad paired up and began exploring the city.

"Captain, are you there?" A voice came on the radio.

"I read you," Nick spoke into his radio.

"This is Blackhawk number 3, we're assigned to provide you with orders from HQ, and we'll be our "eye in the sky" for this mission. "Your designation is Bravo 1. Our call sign is BASEPLATE.

Nick glanced up into the sky as a Blackhawk flew over him, squinting as the thrust from the propellers, set dust drifting into the air.

"Head east towards the Circular River, we'll brief you one you make it there."

"Roger that, Bravo 1 en route to objective." Nick motioned for Parker to come and the two set off.

Nick and Lieutenant Parker headed east towards the Circular River. The two soldiers moved quickly throughout Raccoon's narrow alleyways, dispatching zombies along the way. Parker fired in three-round bursts form his MP7 submachine gun, while Nick on the other hand, switched his M16A4 to its semi-auto setting, carefully picking off zombies from a distance.

"Be advised Bravo 1," the intelligence operator aboard one of the Blackhawks voice crackled from the radio. "You have a large number of infected up ahead, near the RPD Station, I suggest you avoid the area."

"What if there are survivors inside?" asked Parker.

"Bravo Team 3 is already inside and has found survivors, we're sending a helicopter right now"

"Roger that," Nick said.

As the two marines continued to walk through the deserted alleyways, a screech suddenly echoed from the building to the right. The window behind Nick shattered as something crashed through it. Nick and Parker spun around, guns leveled at the figure.

"What the fuck _is _that thing!'" screamed the lieutenant as began wildly shooting in its general direction. The "thing" was sprawled on all fours and was slowly crawling towards the two men, unfazed even as 4.6mm rounds from Parker's submachine gun tore through its back, splattering blood on the wall behind it.

Nick recognized the creature as a licker. The exposed cranium and the elongated tongue was a dead giveaway. He had encountered lickers years ago… And they were a bitch to fight in close-quarters.

"Concentrate your fire on its head!" Nick yelled as he began firing in bursts at the Licker. The combined swarm of bullets obliterated the Licker's brain, reducing its head to a slimy pulp.

"That was close" Parker said relieved.

"Yeah, but remember don't shoot for anything but the head, you'll just waste time and ammo, and that can prove fatal in this case" Nick sternly said.

"Roger but don't you thin-"

Parkers sentence was cut short by moans emanating from a large group of zombies that had descended upon them. Suddenly they were everywhere, cornering them on both exits of the alleyway. Before the two could react, the zombie horde surged towards them…


	2. Chapter 2

"Shit, they must have heard the gunshots, quickly through hear!" Nick yelled as the zombies drew closer and closer.

The two marines jumped through the window that the licker had climbed through. Before the two could assess their situation, the door splintered and more zombies cam swarming in. Nick and lieutenant Parker fired into the crowd, without result, they just kept coming.

"Quick get up the stairs, I'll hold them off!' Nick yelled.

Parker withdrew, firing as he backtracked up the stairs, putting two more zombies out of their misery.

As Parker withdrew to the roof, Nick continued to fire into the ever-growing crowd of undead. He could handle a group of zombies, maybe a large one if there were some distance between them, but not when they were swarming into a small building and possibly numbering in the _hundreds_. It was obvious that he was fighting a losing battle. After splattering the brains of five more zombies on the wall with a hail 5.56m bullets from his M16A4, he finally retreated up the stairs.

Arriving at the roof, he reached behind and pulled out a 40mm grenade from his back holster and fitted it into his M203 grenade launcher. Glancing to his left he saw Parker firing into the crowd of undead that was gathering in the streets.

_A good thing too, _Nick thought, _the last thing I need is my partner being eaten alive because I blew the staircase before he made up…_

And with that, Nick fired the 40mm grenade at the wooden staircase, transforming it into thousands of wooden splinters, and blowing an unlucky zombie cleanly in half in the process.

Before, he had time to savor his small victory, Parker called him over to the edge of the roof.

As Nick ran over to him, Mike pointed at the roof of the RPD Station.

"Look it's Eugene from Bravo 3, and it looks like the helicopter came too!"

Sure enough, the familiar sound of a helicopter rotor soon filled the area as the Blackhawk appeared.

Nick took a closer look at the roof through his rifles ACOG scope. Eugene seemed frantic, waving the helicopter.

" Got it Eugene," the pilots voice cracked over the radio, "I can't put her down here, I'll throw you a ladder down."

"Shit, Nick look!"

Nick moved his scope to where Parker was pointing and froze. Directly behind Eugene were two zombies and they were getting closer. Eugene was unable to hear their moans as the Blackhawk helicopter hovered over him. Nick thought abut shooting them, even though the roof of the RPD was within his rifles effective range, he still didn't couldn't risk hitting Eugene. Nick prepared to shoot, even if he didn't hit the infected, the whizzing of the bullets might alert Eugene to the danger… However by now the zombies had already reached Eugene and had literally fallen on top of him.

His screams didn't have to be carried by the wind, to send shivers down someone's spine a kilometer away.

As the zombies began tearing at his skin, Eugene began wildly firing his FN-SCARH in a panic into the air, desperate for a lucky hit. Unfortunately, for a split second his rifle was pointed at the cockpit of the Blackhawk…

The heavy 7.62x51mm bullets from his rifle tore through the bulletproof encasing of the Blackhawks cockpit, tearing through the pilots… With no one to control it, the helicopter began to spin erratically.

As crewmembers aboard attempted to regain control of the unyielding aircraft, the aircraft suddenly pitched forward, sending it into dive directly towards the roof where Nick and Parker were standing…


	3. Chapter 3

Nick froze and his eyes widened as the ton-and-a-half helicopter plunged towards him. However he soon, recovered from the shock as years of training kicked in.

"Patrick, come on!" He yelled as he grabbed his stunned partner and sprinted with him towards the edge of the building.

He could already hear the screeching of metal against concrete as the helicopter's rotor blades slammed into the stone building, followed by the screeching of metal as the Blackhawks motor was overloaded from the impact.

"Ready? Jump!!" He yelled to the lieutenant as he sprung full force off of the roof onto the next building.

The two tumbled in a heap onto the roof of another building, as Nick heard the tell tail sound of the helicopters metal frame impacting upon the building, they had been standing on only moments before…

Seconds later, the Blackhawk detonated in fiery ball of fire, sending metal shrapnel flying into the sky. Nick and Parker ducked for cover as the shockwave passed over them…

Nick glanced up, his ears ringing from the explosion. Slowly he got up, his ACU military camouflage now covered in gray debris. Disoriented, he managed to walk over to the edge of the roof…

The now collapsed building was an inferno. The explosion had blown off the rotors and the roof, leaving only the metal framing of the Blackhawk intact, as flames bellowed out of the passenger compartment and the cockpit.

Half of the street was ablaze, no doubt fuel spilt by the crash crash. Nearby, a group of zombies staggered around inside the inferno, unable to comprehend their situation, they succumbed to the flames after a few minutes…

As the ringing in his ears gradually subsided Nick's radio brought him back to reality.

"Bravo 1 come in… Bravo 1 do you copy?"

"We're here," Nick said into his radio.

"Bravo 1, you need to get out of the area immediately! I have hostiles closing in on your location from all directions, and there's _hundreds_ of them, you have to leave NOW!"

Parker was now standing next to Nick, overlooking the carnage, his eyes wide in terror.

"Roger that Baseplate, we're moving out."

With that Nick turned around picking up his M16A4, shacking it twice to make sure no dust had gotten in the barrel, the last thing he needed right was his gun jamming on him.

As he prepared to leave he turned around and glanced at Parker, who was still standing at the edge if the roof, transfixed at the remains of the Blackhawk. Nick walked up to him, putting his hand on Parker's.

"Come, on lieutenant, lets move."

Parker continued staring at the wreckage of the helicopter, unable to tear his eyes away from the sea of fire.

"Lieutenant, the best thing a soldier can do in this situation is concentrate on two things: the mission, which takes priority, and to survive. That's the best thing we can do right now."

Parker turned, facing Nick…

Parker pressed the release on his submachine gun, letting his empty magazine clatter to the ground, and slapped a new clip into his MP7. After pulling back the bolt back with a satisfying click, he looked at Nick and nodded, "Lets move."

Nick cracked a smile as they continued on. As they approached the door, leading down from the roof, Nick signaled Parker to cover him as he breached the door.

"Three…Two…One…Go!"

Nick kicked open the door, shining his rifle-mounted flashlight into the dark building. Nothing. He slowly went down the stairs, surveying the first floor. It seemed to be a bar; behind the bar-counter were shelves, stacked with a plethora of liquors, beers and other alcoholic beverages. There was even a dartboard in the corner. However, there was something eerie about the place. Half-full glasses were still standing on the counter, some of the chairs where tipped over, and some a broken beer bottle lay on the floor.

_So much for the night out…_ Nick thought as he continued toward the front door.

Cautiously, Nick looked out of the window. In the direction of the RPD building was a sea of fire. Dozens of zombies were still wandering into the flames, no doubt attracted to the roar of the fire.

_Dumbasses… guess curiosity gets the best of them._

Nick glanced to the right and froze. The street crowded with zombies wandering towards the crash site, and dozens were right outside the door. An even larger crowd began to form farther down the street.

_There's easily a hundred of them._

"Captain, there's no back exit" Parker said as he walked up from behind.

"Damnit!" Nick cursed under his breath. "All right we're gonna make a run for it, stay close and fire in bursts, and remember: aim for the head."

Parker nodded and readied his submachine gun.

Nick placed his hand on the doorknob, "Ready… Go!"

He flung open the door, shooting two zombies in the head that stood directly in front of him.

"Parker, clear left!" Nick shouted over his shoulder.

As Parker began to engage infected on the left, Nick turned his attention to the growing number of zombies to his right. Nick, trying to conserve ammunition as best he could, fired in bursts at the infected. Each round hit its target dead-on, sending the 5.56x45mm round tumbling through the zombies head.

Going around was pointless; there were too many infected gathering farther down the road. Nick settled on a shortcut: a cobblestoned side street, which would lead him straight to his objective; the Circular River.

Finished clearing the path to the side street, Nick turned around to see Parker, kill his last zombie, the recoil from his bullets pushing it into the inferno.

"Parker, this way!"

Nick continued onward toward the cobblestone street, moving as quickly as possible, before the crowd of undead caught up to him.

He entered the side street, a small street area dotted only by the occasional back door from some of Downtown Raccoon City's numerous diners and bars.

One of these doors was a crack open, oddly just open enough just to get a soldiers attention. The door wasn't wide open, which would have indicated that someone fled through it in a hurry, but it wasn't closed enough to be an accident…

Nick slowly moved towards the door, sticking as close to the wall as possible. As he came within two feet of the door, he could clearly hear the sound of heavy, _inhuman_ breathing coming from inside the building. Before he could move back, the door slammed open, and something rushing out at Nick.

Stepping back from the door, Nick slammed the butt of his rifle against the creature's head, tearing off part of its decayed skin in the process. The creature reeled back fro the blow, just enough for Nick to indentify it. It was a zombie, no doubt, but something about it was just _wrong. _Its skin was a dark red, as if its pores were venting blood, and instead of fingers, it had sharp claws.

Before Nick could snap up his rifle to put a bullet in its head another one stormed out of the door at Nick. The creature grabbed Nick by the arms, its claws scraping against his knife-resistant armor. As it was about to bite him in the neck, Nick one of the kicked creatures legs in a sweeping motion, causing it to lose its grip and stumble backwards. Before it could react, Nick pulled his razor sharp K-BAR combat knife out of its holster and stabbed it directly into the creature's skull.

Before Nick could appreciate the effect this had, the first creature that had rushed him, charged again. This time, Nick was prepared.

"Oh no you don't" Nick said as he snapped up his M16A4, he fired a three-round burst point-blank at the creature's head, blowing it cleanly off…

Alyssa watched the spectacle on a projector in one of the many "Operation Rooms" in the building. Designed specifically for the observation of new, untested B.. From here she could watch everything that was happening in the hellhole that used to be a quiet little mountain town.

But all that mattered too her was that she didn't have to worry about getting eaten alive. Here, she could observe all she wanted to, with a live, uninterrupted feed from a military-grade spy satellite.

On the computer screen in front of her was a picture of a smiling, 17-year old male in military fatigues. Various other computer screens showed, DNA, vaccinations, allergies, and various other pieces of medical data, which were crucial to the project succeeding.

The automatic doors behind her hissed as they opened, and in walked her boss.

He was of average height and had blond hair. Though Alyssa didn't know his age, she had guessed that he was somewhere in his mid-thirties. He had the odd habit of always wearing dark sunglasses, whether he was outside or inside.

"And, do we know if it's him?" He asked her.

"I can't be sure sir. The satellite can't get a good look at his face, but the way he fights, dividing targets with his partner, sticking only to headshots and keeping a distance from those infected, it's almost as if he's been through this before."

Her boss bent down over the computer screens, analyzing the data.

"I also have some footage from a few minutes back." She paused, showing her boss the recording. "He defeated to Crimson Heads singlehandedly in close-quarters. His reflex time are without a doubt much higher than average."

"Its him." Her boss said sternly. "Begin the operation, drop in a carrier and infect him with the virus. Call me, when the carrier is in position."

And with that he waked out the door.

_Well I guess its show time. _Alyssa thought as she punched in the code sequence that would begin the operation.


	4. Chapter 4

With the mob left behind them, Nick and Parker sprinted through Raccoon City, engaging the infected only when absolutely necessary. They finally came to a stop, a block away from the Circular River.

Nick peeked around the corner; the street was empty and quiet.

_Well, beets moans and screams any day…_

Nick and Parker stepped out from the alleyway, slowly advancing into the open. Fires had engulfed some of the buildings down the street, the flames slowly but surely spreading to the neighboring buildings.

As Nick continued on, two shots rang out from a small convenient store. Nick made raised his hand and made a fist, signaling Parker to stop.

A third shot came seconds later, lighting up the interior of the building.

"Sounds like someone's still alive, lets move."

Nick and Parker advanced towards the one-story building, guns constantly pointed at the door. They weren't going to risk whoever, or whatever was in that house to surprise them.

As they came within ten feet of the building, the door slowly began to open. The two marines stopped, aiming their guns at the opening door as a man staggered out.

He looked like he had been to hell and back. His cloths were covered in dry blood, and he dragged his broken ankle behind him. His hair was a greasy jumbled mess, and it looked as though he hadn't shaved in days. As he walked out of the convenient store, he turned to look back inside, mumbling incoherently to himself.

Nick stepped forward and asked "Sir, are you ok-" Nick stopped himself, as it was obvious that the man was clearly _not_ okay, as the man continued to mumble to himself. "Sir, can we offer you some assistance?"

The man spun around and looked straight at the soldiers. Nick could see the shock and horror in his eyes. As the man slowly raised his pistol, a nine-millimeter Berretta, Nick and Parker snapped up their rifles at him in turn.

"Don't come any closer!" The man shouted. "I'll shoot you! You won't turn me into one of you!" The man's eyes were wide in terror, as he slowly backed away.

"Sir, put the gun down, we're with the US government, and we're here to help you." Nick calmly said as he slowly stepped toward the man, his rifle constantly pointed at the man.

"The government? No, you're trying to fool me, but I'm not stupid." The man shook his head in disbelief. He then stared at Nick angrily. "After what you've done to this town, me, my friends, my… my… _wife_!" Tears began to run down the man's face, as he began to snap. "I, I had to do it! She killed Ted; she killed him right in front of me! Then she cam for me, I had to do it, I had to…"

_Jesus, he's lost it! _ Nick thought, as he watched the man break down in front if him.

"Sir, don't worry, we'll take of you." Parker said as he lowered his MP7 and walked toward the man.

The man raised his pistol and fired three shots at Parker, but his shots went wild into the air and into the ground.

Nick and Parker ducked as the madman fired, screaming; "Come and take me you bastards, I'll take you all with me!"

Before the man could fire of another shot, Nick raised his rifle and put a bullet into the man's thigh, sending him sprawling on the ground.

As Nick stood up, and cautiously approached the man. With his rifle pointed at the man, Nick kicked the man's pistol to the side. The man began mumbling franticly to himself as Nick slung his rifle over his shoulder and began to examine the man. Nick quickly rapped bandaging around the bullet wound, which had surprisingly already stopped bleeding…

_Looks like he managed to quiet down as well…_ Nick thought as the man's muttering subsided.

Nick carefully studied the man; his shirt was a mess, almost stiff with all of the dried blood. However, his left sleeve was still wet, indicating a fresh wound. Nick slowly lifted up the mans short sleeve… only to reveal the jagged, bloody imprint of a bite mark…

The man's eyes suddenly opened, and Nick was able to jump away just in time before the man's teeth bit down on his fingers. Nick pulled out his pistol, and fired twice. Two holes blossomed on the man's forehead, sending a spray of blood over Nicks combat boots. Nick continued to stare at the lifeless body before him as he holstered his pistol.

_A little slower, and I'd be the next one on the street with my brains blown out. _

Nick shook the thought out of his head. He had learned long ago that thinking about these things too much could get you killed… and he had no intention of not going home.

Parker approached him, his gun still pointed at the corpse, as if it would spring back to life at any moment.

"Stand down Parker, he's not getting up." Nick said as he walked away from the dead man.

Parker slowly lowered his weapon, however his finger was still firmly rapped around the trigger, ready to fire at a moments notice.

"Lieutenant, lets move out, we're only a block away from the river, and the sooner we can get this over with, the sooner we can get back home." Nick said as he un-slung his rifle.

Parker nodded in agreement and the two set off towards the river. Nick could soon hear the river as they neared the end of the street, finally coming to a stop next to the guardrail by the river.

"Lieutenant, watch my back I'm gonna try to get Baseplate on the line."

Parker turned around and surveyed the area, making sure that no nasty surprises were waiting for them.

A lone zombie stumbled out from the shadows of a building, turning its head in the direction of the two soldiers. Before it could even moan, Parker shot it right between the eyes, sending it tumbling to the floor.

Satisfied that Parker had his back, Nick turned his attention to the radio.

He began to type in Blackhawk 3's frequency, when he heard a series of explosions and gunshots from the other side of the river.

Moments later, a panicked voice came on the radio, Nic continued to hear panicked gunshots through its speakers.

"Baseplate, this is Delta squad leader, we need **immediate** extraction! Billy, over there!" Machine gun fire filled the background of the broadcast. "Baseplate do you copy?!"

Another soldier's voice came onto the radio; "Help me! They're everywhere!" Machine gun fire cut his voice short.

"Charles!" The squad leaders screamed. Nick then heard screams of pain mixed with sheer terror in the background. The screams sent shiver down his spine. "Jesus! They're tearing him apart! Don't just stand there Billy, SHOOT!" The machine gun fire resounded once again, and the screaming quickly fell silent.

"Delta, this is Baseplate, what happened?"

"There's too many of them, and more than have of my squad his dead! We need extraction NOW!"

"I'm sorry Delta, we cannot extract you at your current location, we're not risking another chopper.

"But we're getting slaughtered here! Unless we leave right fucking now, there'll be nothing left of us in five minutes!"

"Understood, Delta, fall back across the river, to… Amy Street, we'll send in members of Bravo squad to reinforce you.

"Negative Sir! We're not going anywhere near the hospital, the place radiates undead, find us a root away to the south from the Umbrella complex."

"Alright, move out towards… French Street, its directly to the south-east. Members of Bravo squad will meet you there."

"Got it, Delta out."

"Bravo, move to the North-East, and link-up with Delta, will see how we're gonna extract you guys then."

"Roger that." Nick said.

_Whatever's going on to the North must be hell. Can't even imagine what must have wiped out Delta…_

Nick signaled for Parker to follow and the two quickly moved toward the Eulson Street Bridge, eager to rendezvous with Delta, and get out of Raccoon City alive…

------------------------------

The operations room had quickly filled in the last hour. Dozens of technicians and scientists watched the live satellite feed, taking notes on the behavior of Umbrella's B.. Alyssa could almost _feel_ their facination.

_But they're all just waiting for the main event…_ Alyssa thought as she prepared for the release of their viral carrier.

To Alyssa's left, one of the technicians vomited, unable to witness the demise of Delta squad. Alyssa wrinkled her nose in disgust; she couldn't stand such incompetence. (not too mention the smell).

_Some people just don't have the stomach for this line of work…_

Alyssa had watched, without emotion, as half of "Delta Squad" torn apart by escaped Lickers and Hunters. The surviving members had quickly regrouped, and had thrust through the line of undead which had almost surrounded them. They were almost three quarters of the way to the rendezvous point with Bravo 1, and would get there at least 10 minutes before the Bravo squad members would reach them.

_They'll be corpses for 5 minutes by the time they make it._

The viral carrier would lie in wait for the spec ops team, and quickly dispatch them before the arrival of their test subject. It would then ambush Bravo, and infect the subject with the experimental virus. _HER _virus, Alyssa corrected herself. The subject would be unconscious for at least 2 hours, during which he would be recovered and brought to the research station. If all went well, she would be a millionaire by tomorrow. She typed in the final string of code, which would release the viral carrier, and send it towards Delta and Bravo's meeting point. The final button clicked; her eyes narrowed in anticipation. She managed to crack a rare smile as she saw the viral carrier awake from unconsciousness...


	5. Chapter 5 Mission Code: XX

Colonel Erik Frank walked though the brightly lit, corridors deep inside the pentagon. He rubbed some of the crust, which had built up in his eyes during the few hours he had managed to get some seep. It had been almost six days since the Raccoon City outbreak had begun and he had gotten little rest.

He approached the automatic doors, which led to the conference room. He was greeted by two, armed MP's and quickly showed them his identification. After looking over his information they scanned both his fingerprints and his iris. After confirming that Erik Frank was, who his papers said he was, he was allowed inside.

_Security just keeps getting tighter…_ Erik thought as entered the relatively small conference room.

Inside the commanders from the United States Northern Command, as well as the United States Strategic Command and Unites States Special Operations Command greeted him. After a multitude salutes followed by greetings and shaking of heads, the men took their seats.

The general from United States Northern Command stood up and began the meeting.

"Gentlemen, as you know, as of September 24th 2100 hours, we have declared Raccoon City a biohazard zone. We immediately began sealing of all the roads in and out of the city, but unfortunately, we haven't secured _all_ of them until now."

The general paused, and took a sip of water. Erik could see it in the man's eyes that he hadn't slept for days.

"Our current mission priority is finding a contingency plan for this outbreak. Colonel Erik Frank will fill you all in as to the cause of this outbreak."

As the general stood up, Erik walked up to the head of the table turning on a projector. The men were greeted with video footage taken from a security camera near and intersection in Raccoon City. Hordes of the infected were slowly advancing towards a group of police officers, barely flinching when the officers opened fire.

"What you see here are people infected with what Umbrella Pharmaceutical designates as "T-virus." As of now we know of no cure or vaccine.

Erik paused as the screams from the police officers drifted out of the projectors small speakers.

"Once infected, a person will die within an hour, then come back to "life" and pursue those who are not infected with the intention of… well… consuming them."

"So, these people are… zombies?" The representative from Unites States Strategic Command asked.

"Yes sir. We've determined that the virus is usually spread via a bite. Thankfully, the virus does not appear to be airborne. We don't have a lot of information regarding this virus, but what little we do know says that it was developed by Umbrella as a biological weapon."

"Colonel, are you saying that a respected pharmaceutical company, has been illegally developing biological weapons on US soil?" A voice from the entrance of the room asked.

Everyone turned towards the door as a man dressed in a suit walked out of the shadows. Immediately, the generals stood up saluted him.

"Secretary, sir!"

"You may be seated gentlemen, please answer my question colonel." The Secretary of Defense said.

"I believe so sir, however there is not enough evidence to support this."

"Good, because the last thing we need right now is a mudslinging contest." The Secretary of defense sat down at the opposite end of the table. "Our priority is to stop this outbreak from spreading. We will not play the "blame-game" when American lives are at stake."

"Yes sir, sorry sir." Erik said.

"Now," The secretary said, "As you've all told me, we have two options: send military troops into Raccoon City to purge it of the virus, or bomb the city and wipe it off the map. Which one is it going to be?"

The generals and the colonel looked back at the secretary in silence, unsure of what to say. The representative from the United States Special Operations Command was the first to speak.

"Mr. Secretary, we have deployed special forces teams into Raccoon City to analyze what the best course of action is. We have determined that a military invasion of the biohazard zone would not solve the problem. "

"What led you to come to this decision?"

"We have already lost a Blackhawk helicopter with about 6 crewman aboard, as well as about 13 of the men on the ground…. "

The Secretary of Defense sighed and shook his head, "So destroying the city is the only way to contain this?"

"There's something else you should no sir. An army patrol along the perimeter of the quarantine zone was attacked by a small group of infected. The men are fine, but the attack occurred deep within the Arklay Mountains, about 15 miles from the outskirts of the city." The USSOCOM representative said.

"Jesus… So we can't even effectively quarantine the city?" the Secretary said in shock.

"No, not with miles of forests surrounding the city."

The secretary shook his head and stared at the video payback the colonel had brought with him.

The secretary sighed and said, "How are we going to do this?"

The general from Unites States Strategic Command quickly answered,

"Sir, we have two options for bombing the city, either we fly in about ten C-130s and drop in the GBU-43/B. The GBU-43/B is a conventional bomb that has a blast radius of 150 yards, which is why we have to do multiple bombing runs to ensure that the entire city is destroyed. Just to let you know sir, the GBU-43/B is the most powerful, non-nuclear weapon we have…"

The Secretary stood up and slowly walked towards the map of Raccoon City. After studying it for a few seconds he turned around and asked, "And the other option, general?"

"A nuclear strike, sir."

The Secretary of Defense stared at the general in silence; he then looked at the other two commanders not believing what he had just heard.

"Sir, USSTRATCOM has the ability to launch a nuclear weapon at the city within the hour. It would take quite some time to mobilize enough C-130s and GBU-43/Bs for the complete destruction of the city."

"Are you actually considering nuking our own soil? Not only will the president be committing political suicide, but there's also a bit of a moral issue involved with using nuclear weapons." The secretary of defense said.

"Sir, it's the best way to ensure complete destruction of the outbreak. A W53 nuclear warhead with a 9 megaton yield, inside a Titan II ICMB will obliterate the city and the immediate forest area surrounding it. This should completely rid the area of the virus."

"Aren't there an other towns around that could be effected by the explosion?"

"No sir, the nearest town, Stone Ville is roughly 30 miles to the east, far out of range of the bomb."

The Secretary sighed and walked up to the video screen displaying the massacre of the police officers that had attempted to make a stand against hundreds of people infected with the virus.

Continuing to watch the footage, he said to the generals, "I've already spoken to the President regarding the possible use of nuclear weapons." He turned around and faced the four men inside the room.

"He said that if there is no other way to stop this virus, then USASTRATCOM is authorized to use a nuclear weapon." He walked up to the representative from United States Strategic Command and said in almost a whisper, "General, you have the president's and my permission to use nuclear weapons to combat this outbreak. However, when this whole thing goes public, which it will. I want everyone here in this room to stand by the president when he says it was the only option. There _will be no_ "sole voice of opposition" from _anyone_ in this room. If the president goes down for this, than you will all go down with him, is that understood?"

The other four men in the room stood up, snapped clean salutes and said, "Yes Sir."

"Good," the Secretary of Defense said, "Admiral Hammond, pull out the last of our special forces troops still in the city, Raccoon City will be destroyed within the next 12 hours." With that the Secretary of Defense left the conference room.

"Jesus Christ, it's finally come to this." Colonel Erik Frank said.

The USSTRATCOM representative nodded as he picked up the phone to give the order to destroy Raccoon City.

"God help us all." He said as the dialed in the number.


	6. AmbushInfection

Nick pressed himself up against a brick wall of an old building, two blocks from where he was supposed meet up with delta squad.

_Or at least the members are delta that aren't dead yet… _Nick thought.

Nick peeked around the corner. He could already see the rally point two blocks away, a new looking building under construction. There were several zombies, milling about in the wide street.

Nick wasn't going to run across the street shooting his way through the undead. Though the zombies in his way didn't pose much of a threat, he was far more worried that a jumpy Delta squad sniper, would shoot him first, and then wonder why _he_ hadn't reached them yet.

_Better to let them know where I'm coming from..._

Nick turned his head towards the radio on his combat vest; "Bavo-1 to Delta, to you copy?" Nick's reply was nothing but empty static… "Bravo-1 to Delta, do you copy?"

_Either their not here yet or… _Nick began to get an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

Nick motioned to Parker that he should follow him, as he prepared to move towards the building. Parker nodded in understandment and tensed himself.

Nick began to move closer to the corner of the wall. Once he was at the very edge, he snapped around the corner and raised his rifle. The zombies closest to him began falling to the ground as 5.56mm rounds tore threw their brain cases, sending them sprawling on the street. Zombies further away had just enough time to turn their heads towards Nick before a hole blossomed in their forehead, sending a spray of blood and brain tissue onto the street.

Once Nick had decided that the population of Zombies had been properly "thinned out," he began his sprint towards the rally point. Nick ran ahead as Parker followed him closely behind, delivering the "coup de grâce" to any zombie that had hadn't been shot in the head.

After a quick sprint, the two soldiers made it to the building's entrance. The door was open just a crack… a mistake Delta would not make.

_It's amazing what stress can do…_ Nick thought to himself as opened the door and surveyed the immediate area.

He scanned his surroundings, ensuring his rifle was always pointed wherever he was looking.

As he heard the sound of footsteps behind him, following the slamming, and locking, of the steel door behind him, he decided that the area was secure. Nick turned around as Parker walked towards him.

"Where's Delta, sir?" Parker asked.

"Don't know, lets take a look arou-," Nick was cut short by a hiss of static from his radio.

As the signal strengthened, Nick could clearly hear Admiral Hammond's voice. It was a voice that Nick would never forget. After all, Hammond had been his first commanding officer. He had trained under him, and months of shouting and barking orders had stitched Hammonds voice into his bones.

"This is a message to all US military personal deployed in Raccoon City. " The admiral said.

Nick and Parker looked at each other concerned. If an Admiral was communicating directly to soldiers on the ground, then either a miracle had occurred or…

"The United States Government has determined that the biohazard in Raccoon City, cannot be contained, and that the only solution to this crisis is complete and total sterilization. As of 0200 hours October 1st 1998, Mission Code: XX, will go into effect."

"What are they going to do? Spray down the city with some chemical?" Parker asked Nick.

"No… They're going to bomb the city, make sure the virus can't escape." Nick said shaking his head.

The admiral's voice came back on the radio, "All troops in the containment area are now ordered to return to their predetermined extraction points. If you cannot reach an extraction point, please contact your commanding officer for further orders." With that the admiral's voice cut to static.

Nick shook his head and said to Parker, "Wait here and secure the entrance, I'm gonna go see where Delta is, at least the building isn't too big."

"Got it, sir!" Parker said.

Nick began walking down a hallway adjacent to the entrance, his footsteps, along with the rustle of his gear, echoing in the hallway. After waking past two dead "undead," Nick felt reasonably secure.

He let his almost-empty magazine clatter to the floor, and slapped in a fresh one. Pulling back the bolt with a click that echoed throughout the hallway. After walking past another small group of dead "undead," Nick let go of his rifle with one his hands, carrying it casually by his side.

_So Delta did come through here… _Nick said as he walked by a dead zombie slumped against the wall, its head blown cleanly off. _So here the hell are they?_

As Nick rounded the corner he froze. The next hallway to the right ended with what appeared to be a janitor's closet. But what stopped Nick in his tracks, was what was seeping out from underneath the door… A small pool of crimson liquid was growing out from the closet, widening at an alarming rate.

Nick slowly advanced towards the janitor closet's door, with both hands now securely gripping the rifle. Stepping through the crimson liquid, Nick slowly placed his hand on the doorknob, and swung the door open.

Darkness stared back at him, and he couldn't make out what was inside the closet. Satisfied that nothing would come rushing out of the darkness, Nick slowly switched on the flashlight mounted on him M16A4.

As the beam of light cut through the cover of darkness, the empty stares of Delta squad's members stared back at him. Nick looked at the pile of decapitated, mauled and cut-in-half corpses, unable to tear his eyes away. Nick was surprised he didn't loose his stomach right then and there.

Some of the bodies had been cut cleanly in half, and other seemed to have been impaled by something. Though, much more grotesque were the decapitated heads staring back at him in the soup of blood…

At that moment Nick felt curiously vulnerable, as if someone was watching him. Nick spun around, pointing his rifle down the empty. Nick decided that it was best that he returned to the entrance where Parker was.

"Parker!" he yelled as he was about to round the corner that would lead him to the entrance. Just as he rounded the corner the sounds of crushing bones echoed down the hallway. Nick stopped cold as he tuned the corner, unable to believe what he was seeing.

20 feet away from him, was Lieutenant Parker. However, he was now held up 3 feet off the ground. 3 claws were stuck in the middle of his face, and protruded out the back of his skull.

A woman about the same size as Nick stood naked next to Parker, three shining silver claws, which were smeared with blood, were where her right hand should have been. Her skin was almost completely white and her blond hair hung just to her shoulders. Blood from Lieutenant Parker's head ran down her arm and then down her chest, forming lines of crimson red.

Parker's legs and hands were twitching in an eerie fashion, as the last signals his brain was able to send reached their destinations.

The woman turned towards Nick and looked him straight in the eye and smiled. She flung Parker's corpse to the ground and began walking towards Nick.

Nick snapped up his rifle and fired at the advancing woman, but she simply shrugged off the 5.56mm bullets striking her. Her wounds bled, but quickly stopped and _seemingly healed_ a few seconds later. Nick kept firing; the cling of shell casings hitting the floor, along with the bang of his shots filled the hallway. Once his gun went "click" instead of "bang," Nick cursed as he fumbled for a fresh magazine. He looked up as he finished reloading. The woman was moving at an unnatural speed, and Nick rolled away just in time to avoid being impaled by her clawed hand.

Nick quickly got up as the woman's crashed into a wall, attempting to pull her clawed-hand out of the concrete wall. Nick reacted quickly loading a grenade into his grenade launcher.

"Lets see you take this!" Nick yelled as he fired the grenade at the creature, taking cover behind a pillar. The close proximity of the explosion rattled Nick bones, but he quickly swung out from cover once the dust had settled.

Nick couldn't believe his eyes as the woman slowly stood up from the ground; the gash where the grenade went off was steadily healing.

"What the hell did they inject into you?" Nick said before he realized that he could not fight… whatever he was fighting. Nick quickly dashed up a stairwell, slamming open the door, which led to the roof.

Before Nick could make it a foot away from the doorway he was grabbed by his vest from behind and thrown. Nick hit the ground 10 feet away, sending his M16A4 clattering off of the roof's edge. Before Nick cold get up, the woman grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground.

Nick stared into her face. She couldn't have been older than he was, and was roughly 6 feet tall, making her a little shorter than he was. Her eyes ere what scared him the most, they were a dark crimson, and seemed to be filled with rage. As she continued to stare at him and smile, Nick recognized her.

"Jade?" He managed to gasp.

Her grip on his neck began to get tighter and tighter. Nick reached down to his waist and pulled out his HK MK23 pistol, raised it up to her face and began firing, point-blank into her face. She quickly raised her clawed hand and smacked the weapon away, cutting open Nick's hand in the process. As the wounds on her face slowly disappeared, she glanced at him in anger.

"Jade, stop this!"

Before Nick could react she had drawn her clawed hand back, and thrust it through Nick's stomach…

Nick stared at his former comrade, blood dripping from his mouth.

The woman withdrew her clawed hand from him and let him drop to the ground.

Nick saw her turn around slowly walk back towards the stairwell until she disappeared from view.

As Nick's vision began to blur, he could see the ever-widening circle of blood around him…

When he finally gave up fighting, and closed his eyes, the burning pain in his stomach and hand slowly dissipated throughout his body. As consciousness slowly began to leave him, it felt as if though something was moving inside of his chest…


End file.
